Cars parked on pitch help thaw Bognor’s pitch before FA Trophy tie

Kyran Schmidt

IT IS an unorthodox approach to ‘parking the bus’ but it would be sure to leave even Jose Mourinho proud.

Near-zero temperatures across the south left the pitch at Nyewood Lane, home to Bognor Regis Town, rock solid last night.

However, postponement of the FA Trophy tie with visitors Altrincham was averted with a stroke of non-league cunning. An hour before kick-off, six cars were parked on the pitch to thaw the frozen ground.

The effort was a success as the ice melted sufficiently for the referee to allow play to go ahead.

That was bad news for the visitors, though, as a ‘wonder goal’ from the boot of Bognor full-back James Crane in the 85th minute, struck from over 30 yards, gave the Rocks a 2-1 win.

A picture of the cars parked on Bognor’s pitch, posted on Twitter by Altrincham, was shared widely across social media.

Bognor was even trending highly on content-sharing site Reddit, with Altrincham’s tweet shared on the website’s football section.

Both the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph have also covered the innovative dethawing.

Bognor now face Sutton on Saturday, February 6, in the third round of the FA Trophy.